The effects of a major Microsoft service outage could linger in Australia for two weeks as criminals posing as airline and IT support workers attempt to scam people.
Computer systems around the world crashed on Friday afternoon after an update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike failed, affecting Microsoft users.
Computer screens at airlines, supermarkets, banks, media outlets, gas stations and other large companies and retailers around the world were faced with the blue screen of death.
The root bug came from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which was conducting a planned update for Microsoft.
On Sunday, Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil thanked IT staff and other workers for getting “our economy back up and running” by working over the weekend.
“However, it will take time before all affected sectors are fully operational again,” the minister said in a statement.
‘In some cases, we may see initial problems for one to two weeks.’
CrowdStrike updates were made overnight in the US, so the unwanted effects reached Australia shortly before happy hour on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday, airports across Australia continued to feel the brunt of the global IT shortage. Pictured is Melbourne’s international terminal
More than eight million devices were affected by the Microsoft service interruption
Microsoft revealed that some 8.5 million devices worldwide were affected. The tech giant recommended restarting computers up to 15 times as a solution if the device displayed the blue screen.
The disruption to flights, commerce and technology in general has opened a gap that scammers are trying to exploit.
The Cybersecurity Minister reiterated warnings for users to beware of scammers, and reiterated that messages or contacts from anyone offering to solve these problems should be treated with skepticism.
On Sunday, Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil (pictured) thanked IT staff and other workers for getting “our economy back up and running” by working over the weekend.
“Scammers are trying to take advantage of the disruptions caused by the CrowdStrike technical incident,” he said.
‘Be alert for potential scams and phishing attempts.’
People should be wary of unexpected calls, texts and emails claiming to offer help.
“You can help by ensuring that vulnerable people, including older family members, are especially cautious at this time,” the Cyber Security Minister said.
‘Examples that have been reported include people posing as airlines and offering to resolve issues with delayed flights, and criminals posing as technical support and offering to fix affected technology,’ he said.
Airport delays continue to affect passengers
A visit to the grocery store or gas station may require more time as each business gets its systems up and running again.
Triple-0 and emergency services remain unaffected.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a National Coordination Mechanism was created through the Department of the Interior. The group brings together all sectors and ministers to respond to any particular crisis.
Although supermarkets’ computer systems were affected, Australians have been told there is no need to stockpile food.
The group has been meeting over the past few days to discuss the outages and met again on Sunday morning.
CrowdStrike said at the meeting that it is “now close to rolling out an automatic fix to the issue with its update, as is Microsoft,” O’Neil said.
“This should increase the speed with which economy-wide systems get back up and running.”